What a fabulous contradiction I was
At times, disbelieving in wonder and awe
At others, feeling so far down because
I had no idea what I was living for
Gloomy skies could comfort or divide
Why did the good times fade away?
Without understanding what I was inside
Unable to avoid being a perfect cliche
So long ago, I can look back and laugh
Dumb luck has brought me to today
Even when I wasn't on the right path
I stopped myself from being led astray
They cut the grid
into the mountain,
breathing a poisonous cloud.
A frantic chaos,
Staking a fortune from
beneath the eucalypt,
pulling hollow bones
they did not heed.
They bet on success,
Assuming the heavy,
damp silence of the bush
was a kind of surrender.
But destiny ignores a frantic hand.
It woke not as a tremor,
but a shift.
A slow drag against the iron.
The ancient roots waking
their weight,
a deep,
fluid groan rising
through fragile ground.
And then—
the inescapable alignment.
The ancient land would seal their fate.
The land sheared
like a severed cord,
swallowing their plans
into the dark earth.
Within the bruised shadows
of the collapse,
the twisted steel rests.
An eerie monument to fortune lost.
the earth does not negotiate with fortune.
It simply folds the chaos down,
and settles back into peace.
rolling into ramble
my mind is screaming through my skin
release, blood, let me go.
bared teeth forced smile
rigor mortis
but I am breathing.
locked limbs
dead pan.
I am shivering.
pain – I need pain
life has never offered me anything to gain
only loss.
Control. 7 letters. 7, lucky number.
scratch off a lotto ticket,
pretend it wasn’t the same waste of space,
time & money as I have always been
before I toss it to the floorboard.
let me go – I whisper.
bad luck – no
the urges scream.
hurt,
hurt,
hurt.
for that is your worth.
When luck and fortune flee from my own soul,
and then disaster overwhelms my hope,
and hunger consumes the meal in my bowl,
and poverty and debt hinder my scope,
then I wish myself more rich in spirit,
in wisdom and character more complete,
with God's forgiveness now to inherit,
and grace in place of ruin and defeat.
But I reflect on our time spent together,
that spring we made love under a domed sky
(those happy days seemed to live on forever).
Despair now gone, I sing and let joy fly.
As you now live on in my sonnet's measure,
may all men find in you time's endless treasure.
How lucky am I to have everything i could want
How lucky am I that I have money to spare
How lucky am I that I dont have to go hungry
How lucky am I to have 2 married parents
How lucky am I to have a roof over my head
How unfortunate all I wanted was peace
How unfortunate money doesnt ease pain
How unfortunate I must go hungry to be pretty
How unfortunate my parents dont get along
How unfortunate the roof over my head is caving in
How fortunate that I can make peace with others
How fortunate I can give to those whose money cannot be spared
How fortunate am I to give food to the starved
How fortunate that I have witnessed strong love
How fortunate I am to share my roof with those who need it more
How lucky am I to be so unlucky
Life had dealt him a rotten hand.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Loose noose
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Youth exudes luck and beauty.
She views the world in vivid colour.
A true optimist at heart.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2026
A kiss for luck sent your way
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
There was a baker named thyme
who forgot all about the time
she burnt her cinnamon bread
because of her cousin Fred
and now it's too late the day is in its prime
looking for needle
in haystack's last straw, I found-
the farmer's daughter
At first appearance
you stumbled drunk and slurred words
I was not impressed
Oh fiddle-dee-dee!
Oh fortuity!
Come take a chance with me—
on a slippery-dip slide,
down to serendipity,
where happenstance
shakes the dice,
and takes the chance
to dance with me,
romance with me.
I tripped on a maybe; I slipped on a sigh,
did a dance with chance, as it wandered by.
That flipped the switch—in the blink of an eye—
My fortune lit up, streaking across the sky.
Call it a fluke, call it a break.
Call it pure chance, no hands could fake—
When you riled the give-and-take,
you made luck, drive in its stake.
Let fortuity fling! Let serendipity sing,
Let fortune shuffle its luck through everything.
A stumble, a tumble — then you swoop right in!
to play all your cards—go bold, all-in!
So spin the wheel to clack, clack its spark,
let chance light a match to scatter the dark.
Make merry, and rouse the larrikin lark—
to laugh, sing, dance—a fling in the park.
Oh fiddle-dee-dee!
Oh fortuity!
Come take a chance with me—
on a slippery-dip slide,
down to serendipity,
where happenstance
shakes the dice,
and takes the chance
to dance with me,
romance with me.
I followed a firefly
that winked at me like it knew a secret
and drifted toward the crooked woods.
A mossy path unrolled itself,
inviting my hesitant footsteps
as if it had been waiting all along.
At the clearing’s heart,
a tiny door glimmered in a tree~
and when I knocked, it opened.
Some luck arrives wearing magic.
Night sky falls upon us.
Peace there for the taking.
I thank my lucky stars.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
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